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Tag: Egypt
Are Accountants in Denial About North Africa?
From February 9th to 24th, they may have been.
A CPA Outlook Index put together by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina rose to its highest level since the third quarter of 2007 — before the recession took hold. That was largely due to a big jump in optimism over the U.S. economy, but the 1168 accountants surveyed were also felt better about their own firms and expect stronger sales, profits, spending and hiring. The survey was conducted between Feb. 9 and 24 — a period that captures the resignation of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, growing unrest in Libya and rising energy prices. That offers evidence that, thus far, the tremors in the Middle East and North Africa haven’t seriously unsettled U.S. businesses.
Possibly related – CBS had just suspended Two and a Half Men on February 24th, thus, this survey may not accurately reflect the effect this loss has had on our nation.
Starwood Hotels CFO Not in Denial About This Egypt Situation
Frankly, it’s bad for business:
“The political turmoil in North Africa, especially Egypt, is of course hurting our business,” said Vasant Prabhu, vice chairman and chief financial officer of the hotelier during a post-earnings conference call Thursday. He noted Starwood has 16 hotels across North Africa that generated between $10 million to $12 million in fees last year.
“We expect that our fees will be hit in North Africa,” he added. “It is too early to tell how we will be impacted, but this is clearly a risk that needs to be closely monitored.”